From rainbow nation to ‘us and them’ amid absence of moral leadership
I REMEMBER 1995 as if yesterday, the World Cup rugby win, dancing in the streets and Madiba who set a moral standard beyond note.
We were flying high and nothing could stop the rainbow nation. Shortly after that rugby World Cup, a group of friends were travelling to Malawi by road on South African passports and the magic travelled with us.
At border posts fellow Africans were rejoicing with us and the magic spread across the continent. People were happy to see South Africans.
We were sitting on Lake Malawi in the “Wagon-wheel” bar and dancing to Mango Groove’s Special Star while Australian over-landers looked on in amazement at how South Africans and locals just seemed to bond, white and black.
Fast forward to the present. Things have changed, South Africans are no longer that welcome in Africa. We are viewed as arrogant, intrusive and paternalistic, the “Trump” nation of Africa.
Just before Christmas 2017 things really started falling apart when news broke of the Gupta saga, the corruption within the ruling party, followed by Steinhoff, McKinsey, KPMG and many more.
Every day we were bombarded with news of weak leadership, corruption and how deep the rot in South African society has become. Our leadership structures broke down and corruption in the government and business left the rest of South Africa high and dry.
Why did business follow the same path as the government?
The gap left by the transition to democracy in 1994, made it simple. The new government came back from exile, with little or nothing.
During Mandela’s inauguration, Trevor Manual, on his way to the Presidency, sat flat on the floor in the back of a Toyota Condor. A lack of space was not a problem for him.
Paolo Jordan left the Union Buildings for the first time in his large ministerial Mercedes-Benz and before getting in he shouted to Aziz Pahad: “Hey Aziz, is that one big enough for you!”
The former National Party supporters needed to back a new horse –and they did so quickly with self interest at heart. This state of affairs, business seeing an opportunity and the new government equally seizing the opportunity, signalled the start of the moral decline of the rainbow nation – a lust for personal enrichment followed on all levels of society.
The masses found solace in following the corrupt. It was assumed acceptable to indulge over the wealth of others via a media that promoted and idolised their lack of frugality. This probably led the New York Times to feature and article: “They eat money”, where South African business and government alike are scorned.
The problem with money is that it is no guarantee for brilliant leadership or a person of character with high moral standard, you need to be at the right place at the right time. Literature in South Africa is now littered with stories about moral decay in the business and public affairs environment.
We are bombarded with how one is stealing from the other and how one is getting into bed with another just to ensure reserved prosperity – for those who are trusted and form part of the inner circles.
Meantime, to shift focus in a cunning self inflicted propaganda campaign, we continue to entertain ourselves with the “us” and “them” dichotomy. We re-enforce this axiom through security related arguments that serves as one of the major drivers behind the chase for riches. We can build our walls higher, invest abroad and ensure a proper education for our children, but is this nation building?
We are a long way from the integration experienced in the rest of Africa – because we prefer still to point the finger at the “other side”.
It is their fault, we say, they are responsible for apartheid so they are at fault, or they are un-educated, steal from us, threatens our security. There is very little left of the rainbow nation. We now only see grey sky, heavy rains – or no rain.
We have somehow lost that moral high ground that Madiba thought he left us with, whether this be Zuma, Jooste, Gupta, the ANC, the DA… the list continues. We have become truly individuals with one common goal, self enrichment. And we are willing to bend the rules of ethics, deny our moral capacity and justify it with “I need to escape this shithole country” or “they stole from us we must get back what is rightfully ours”.
There is no moral leadership in South Africa. There is no person we can look up to and truly say we have a leader. We aspire to false leaders who cloak themselves in riches.
No wonder South Africa tops the list of countries with the most Google searches for bitcoin. It is a reflection of our false hope that we can buy our security or well-being, to ensure the “others” do not get the better of me or my family. It screams: “I want to get out”.
What we should be doing is making business responsible with government, it should be a true partnership. The two should be intertwined in a co-ordinated manner. The one has the know-how and money and the other yields political power. Perhaps we need to look for new ways of government instead of traditional democracies that are out of touch with a fast changing world.
We can be innovative and creative. If we can pull together instead of in different directions we can truly become the nation Madiba envisaged. To do so we need moral leadership at all levels of society. We should revive Ubuntu!
As if through a shimmer of light the ANC miraculously resolved the Zuma issue and found moral leadership in Cyril Ramaphosa. What a brilliant opportunity for all South Africans. But can the business community do the same to save South Africa from the slippery slope of a morally corrupt society. There is hope in the person of Ramaphosa, but we should not make the mistake and think it is just his problem. We are all guilty and we all need a change of heart. Perhaps we should go back to Kempton Park and discuss our common future.